WO2015136128A1

WO2015136128A1 - Fire extinguishing device for in-air use

Info

Publication number: WO2015136128A1
Application number: PCT/ES2015/000032
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lluís ÁLVAREZ MONTANER
Original assignee: Álvarez Montaner Lluís
Priority date: 2014-03-13
Filing date: 2015-03-12
Publication date: 2015-09-17
Also published as: EP3117872A4; AU2015228725A1; EP3117872A1; EP4098330A1; US10201721B2; US20170072234A1; ES2548189B1; NZ724226A; WO2015136128A8; AU2015228725B2; ES2548189A1; CA2942093C; CA2942093A1; CL2016002291A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a fire extinguishing device for in-air use, which uses a tank having two separate and related containers, having a mixture of water and foam, together with a chamber to generate the firefighting foam. The device has electronic control functions, means for dispensing the firefighting foam formed that enables both rapid emptying as well as the dissemination thereof over a wide area, making it possible to perform multiple discharges at will.

Description

FIRE EXTINGUISHING FIRE DEVICE DEVICE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device for extinguishing fires of those that are suitable for transport by helicopter and externally loaded with water in cisterns, swimming pools, rivers and lakes, etc., with the particularity that it has facilitated and optimized means of loading of water and the generation of fire-fighting foam by means of a fire extinguishing foam cannon.

BACKGROUND

Forest fires are the cause of the ruin of our forests, destroying not only landscapes and ecosystems that will take a long time to regenerate, but also ruining wood wealth, the forestry industry, destroying or damaging crops, buildings and causing misfortunes in people and animals.

To cope with them numerous efforts have been made not only to prevent them, but fundamentally, to stop them. Thus, the rapid extinction of fire becomes a priority in our day.

At present, in addition to the participation in the fire brigade fire extinguishing work and other people who fight fire on the ground, airplanes and helicopters are used to great advantage because of their ease of movement they can access places of the otherwise inaccessible fire, or to wooded places where crews would take or could not arrive. In summary, airplanes and helicopters benefit from their speed in covering distances, and also from their carrying capacity to throw large amounts of water over points. Helicopters are preferable to airplanes or hydroplanes, because they can be refilled from water in more diverse places.

The usual procedure to load water in a helicopter is to provide it with a container that is suspended from the helicopter's load hook, submerge the container on the surface of a lake, for example, and when it has already been filled, lift the flight with the load of water.

Subsequently, to empty the water tank over the area that is chosen, the pilot sits on it and opens the gate of said tank, the water falling by gravity. The drawback is that the discharge of water is carried out suddenly, and consequently it is not very effective. This causes that in many occasions several passes of the helicopter in a certain area are necessary for successive launches to correct the deviations of the fall of the water on the objective motivated by the wind, by turbulence, etc.

In addition, frequently, after a first discharge, there may be residual areas where the water has not reached or residual fire sources that should be attacked again. To combat it is necessary, with the known technique, make several passes of the aircraft over that same area, which represents excessive time. It should be taken into account, in addition, that sometimes and due to the high temperatures produced in a fire, water can become volatile before reaching the ground, so it is ineffective for its purpose.

That is why it has proven much more effective than water, its mixture with retarding or fire-inhibiting substances. On the one hand, rapid water vaporization is avoided. On the other hand, fire-inhibiting films can be obtained on combustible objects to be protected, such as trees or buildings.

Additionally, by forming an extinguishing mixture, with the same amount of water, much more product to be poured can be obtained and, as we say, more efficient.

The mixing of the fire extinguishing compound must therefore be facilitated, while simultaneously maintaining the capacity, in a device such as that of the invention, for water recharge.

Spanish Patent No. 0419040, by Alexander Linkewich, describes the realization of a fire-fighting paste mixing water with fire retardant products, such as ammonium sulfate mixed with clay and a binding agent. How the loading of said paste requires be made on the ground, the patent proposes to load the product in the aircraft tanks to delay fires, and then, by conventional means, to load the water, the mixture being carried out on the fly.

This system suffers from the defect that it is very difficult to keep the mixture in optimal conditions of use. A terrestrial infrastructure and complex area is required because the mixture must be continuously removed.

US patent US4240507, of Hokkanen, describes an air use cistern. It has one or more openings in the bottom to be filled that are closed with a gate. A second cistern contains an additive to mix with water. The apparatus includes a mechanism to control the mixing of the additive with the water by means of a pair of valves associated with the stroke of a piston, so that in one case it mixes water and additive, in another case it releases the mixture on the fire and finally, returns leftover and unused additive to your storage tank.

US patent US4601345, by Mahrt, describes a device for mixing and supplying an extinguishing mixture in a container or cistern formed by water and a fire retardant agent. A container of fire retardant substance is arranged in the same structure of the apparatus and another tank with water suspended in the air. By means of an injection pump, the retarding substance is transferred from one container to another to be mixed with the water that is loaded by conventional methods. The rotation of a propeller located at the end of the injection lance serves to remove and accelerate the mixture. The patent PCT W094 / 28975, of As LuftTransport, describes a tank for use with an extinguishing mixture that has means to prevent the rotation of the module, to carry out the control by the pilot of its functions by means of radio communications, together with a device that through a cone that moves at the discretion of the pilot, accepting more or less mixing, allows a discrete dosage of the pouring of the mixture. The pouring is done by gravity and the retarding substance is located directly at the bottom of the tank so that the mixture with the water is carried out in their mutual contact.

Unfortunately, all the documents described fail to provide a means to efficiently and effectively produce foam extinguishes fires that the air contest requires for its formation. When mixing the fire retardant paste directly with the water, it takes a long time for the additive to mix properly, being an ineffective remedy to stir the mixture or, otherwise, wait for it to pour enough time into the fire in the fall so that the foam forms at the contact of the mixture with the air. The negative consequences are the pouring of a deficient extinguishing mixture, in addition to the considerable time used in the formation of the mixture that is proposed to be used.

As the discharge time is also very short, the extinction is reduced to the impact surface.

The patent PCT W09423797, of Baker R., describes a foam supply tank for extinguishing fires that uses bottles of compressed air whose pressure allows to expel the foaming mixture by means of nozzles controlled by valves that project the foam on semi-spherical aeration screens, for its expansion By requiring said tank for the use of compressed air, its maintenance needs are cumbersome. It also depends on an external source of maintenance, requiring ground assistance to be operational. It lacks means for the controlled mixing of sparkling water and water, making it passively in the cellar of the tank that is filled on land. By not having autonomous and successive water loading, the extinguishing performance of the tank decreases markedly.

Additionally, the discharge of the foam occurs practically by gravity as it does not generate sufficient driving force to fire the foam.

We see that in the known systems, when the water is discharged only by gravity, although foaming elements are mixed and the sparkling aeration occurs during the discharge, they are not very effective. On the other hand, the foam that is reached is not homogeneous and expanded, which causes a significant loss of water, without taking advantage of all the advantages of said foam as an extinguishing element.

The device of the invention, on the other hand, does not act by gravity but by the pressure of an ejector pump that projects the fire extinguishing substance, and can be applied at its discretion and in successive applications, thus correcting the aforementioned drawbacks.

The foam is discharged at a determined pressure completely expanded and homogeneous, which means obtaining a more effective extinguishing product and greater mixing performance.

Another additional advantage is that much less water is used in the new device than in conventional devices. This reduces the load of the aircraft and facilitates its handling, being able to make flights at low speed and even in stationary, which translates into a much more precise and effective fire extinguishing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To cope with these problems, the present invention has been designed which describes a fire extinguishing device for use in helicopters, which has an extinguishing foam generating barrel formed by a foam expansion chamber that receives a foaming mixture of water and foam fire extinguisher, at a given pressure and flow rate, from a disintegration nozzle of the sparkling jet terminated in injectors of said mixture, said mixture being combined with air in said expansion chamber until it is projected, under pressure, against an aerating mesh, which forms a fully expanded and homogeneous extruder foam.

The present invention is designed to be incorporated into tanks that are suspended by a sling, for example steel, textile, etc.

These tanks have independent tanks for water and foam, the latter preferably located in the lower area of the tank to give stability to the assembly by lowering the center of gravity, and a motor module where a motor that feeds a suction pump is located to aspirate the water and to expel the foaming agent under pressure, a foam injection and dosing system such as that formed by a calibrated pressure and flow pump that is connected to the water pump or directly to the water tank, to achieve Foaming solution in the right proportion, flow direction valves to select the filling or injection function of the foaming solution, and the corresponding control electronics.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better interpretation of the object of the invention, several embodiments are described below. practice, as a non-limiting example thereof, accompanied by the corresponding drawings.

Figure 1 shows a representation of a tank according to the invention identifying the parts that form it.

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the engine module located in the upper area of the tank of Figure 1.

Figure 3 schematically and simplely depicts the foam generating barrel of the device of the invention.

Figure 4 shows a representation of a helicopter with a device according to the invention, loading water from a surface such as that of a lake, pond or the like. Figure 5 shows a representation of the helicopter of the previous figure in the action of firing the homogeneous and expanded foam that is obtained according to the invention.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention consists of a fire extinguisher device for aerial use that incorporates an extinguishing foam generating barrel formed by an air inlet expansion chamber (12) that receives foaming and extinguishing mixture from a disintegration nozzle (14) of the jet stream. foaming, topped in injectors (15), expelling said foaming mixture under pressure, facilitating its mixing with the air, and which is expelled outside to through an aerating mesh (9) obtaining an extinguishing foam, expanded and homogeneous.

The tank (1) in which the foam generating cannon is located, has an independent water tank (11) and a motor module (7) where the motor group (17), the water suction pump, are located (18), the foam injection and dosing system (24), the corresponding flow direction valves that control the passage of the liquids (19, 19 ', 20 and 21) and the control electronics (23). The foam tank can also be incorporated into the tank (1) in its own tank, for example in its lower part, or placed in a tank attached to the helicopter or to the same sling.

The device of the invention configured to be used by helicopters consists of a tank (1) that has a support foot (2) or landing gear formed by a tube of resistant material, such as an aluminum alloy, in the form of ring or by reinforcements in the lower part of the tank which also acts as a support foot, such structure serving to support the assembly of said tank (1) on the ground or at the bottom of the water loading point.

The body of said tank (1) is formed by a cylindrical element (6) topped off by a buoyancy element (3) that separates the motor module from the water and inferiorly by a lower outlet in an aerator mesh (9) which is the Exit zone (10) of the extinguishing material. In some embodiment this cylinder (6) may suffer a gradual narrowing of the diameter in the lower direction (8).

The interior of the tank, superiorly, as shown in the drawings accompanying the invention, is partially open and in contact with the air, facilitating the filling of said tank (1) when its immersion in the water and the aeration of The extinguishing mixture.

The aerator mesh (9) is formed by a reticular structure of tensioned mesh in which the foaming jet is projected for its exit to the outside. Said cylinder (6) includes in its interior a cylindrical body (4), opened at its two upper and lower ends, said cylinder (4) annularly delimits on its outer perimeter, the water reservoir (11), and internally the barrel of foam formed by an expansion chamber (12) where there is the air inlet, not shown, and of foaming (13) which ends the latter in a disintegration nozzle (14) of the foaming jet, at whose ends some injectors (15) that expel foaming substance under pressure through the aerator mesh (9).

In the embodiments that require it, the use of a buoyancy element (3) constructed as an air chamber and / or with light high buoyancy material is provided that serves to prevent immersion of the motor module in the water when it should loading the tank into a lake, river, raft, etc., and the support foot (2) does not reach its bottom.

The motor module (7) is formed by a motor group (17) that drives a water pump (18) that serves to aspirate the water from the water tank (11) and expel the foaming agent under pressure, that is, the mixture of water with the foam. Also in cases where the device cannot be charged by immersion due to the low water depth of the charging point, this pump can suck the water through a vertical pipe, not shown, to fill the water tank (11) · A foam injection and dosing system (24) formed by a pump and calibrated flow is arranged to achieve the foaming solution in the proper proportion, flow direction valves (19, 19 ', 20 and 21) to select the function of filling or injection of the foaming solution, and the corresponding control electronics (23).

The preferred method of loading the device is by direct immersion in the water. So that the water load is done in a simple and fast way, the device has been designed as a hollow cylinder with an annular tank around the foam generating barrel so that according to the Archimedes principle, by decreasing the volume of the body that is submerged in a fluid, we decrease the hydrostatic thrust that keeps the body floating and the device easily penetrates the water until This, through the same canyon, overflows by its upper opening filling the water tank (11) in a rapid immersion operation to the buoyancy line. The aerator mesh (9) prevents the introduction of solid bodies into the water tank (11).

The operation of the device of the invention is as follows:

At the base place of the helicopter, the foam chamber is filled with foam. When an emergency call is received to go to the extinction of a fire, the tank is hooked to the loading hook by means of the support cable (22) and the control cables are connected. The operation of the equipment is verified and the helicopter takes flight to the fire zone. Before you must refuel, if the device has not yet been filled with it, to act in front of the fire.

To fill the water tank (11) the invention provides several procedures. Example 1

The tank is filled by direct immersion in the sea, lakes, rivers, rafts etc., with sufficient depth.

This procedure is typical of the present invention and an advantageous consequence of its constructive arrangement that provides very rapid filling of the water tank (11), reducing water loading times, avoiding queues of other aircraft at water loading points and increasing the rate of fire discharges.

Example 2

The tank lands on a river, a raft or any other shallow water reservoir, supported by its support foot (2) or landing gear. Since the immersion procedure is not possible to fill the water tank, the suction of the water suction pump (18) operated by the motor group (17) is used, until the water tank (11) is filled. Valves (19 and 20) control the entry of liquid in this way. ^'

Example 3

The tank is deposited on land, where fire crews fill it with water through hoses through the auxiliary water inlet, not shown.

The helicopter is now ready to attack the fire. It rises and approaches the fire zone, firing the foam created by the foam cannon under pressure. The mixture of the sparkling with the air, projected under pressure through the aerating mesh (9), creates a fully homogeneous and fully expanded extinguishing foam.

The proportion of the extinguishing mixture is very efficient, so that a lot of foam is generated from small amounts of foam. The use of water is also cheaper, allowing it The amount of water in the tank can be sprayed with greater areas of land than without using the foaming mixture. To facilitate the creation of foam, the present invention has a foam barrel formed by an expansion chamber (12) of air inlet where the foaming mixture is fired from injectors (15), located at the ends of a disintegration nozzle (14) of the foaming jet and connected to the foaming inlet (13). The sparkling jet is disintegrated with a rotating movement, which facilitates its mixing with the air, due to the presence of directional blades, not shown.

The foaming agent is pressurized on the aerator mesh (9), creating the homogeneous and expanded foam, which goes outside through the exit point (10). The aerating mesh (9) is formed by a reticular structure of tensioned mesh in which the foaming jet allows the creation of a homogeneous and expanded extinguishing foam when projected at high pressure. Additionally, another way to expel the extinguishing substance and alternative to the use of the foam cannon described above, is to use the rapid water discharge system. This system has two purposes, to serve as an emergency discharge means, when the helicopter needs to release cargo, or if there is a malfunction of the engine group (17) It allows the tank to be used as the previously described known technique of gravity drop.

The tank is transported suspended from the cargo hook of the helicopter by means of a sling (22). The sling is preferably used long so that the pilot can see, by vertical reference, the points where he wants to hit, and because it allows him to keep the helicopter away, at a sufficient distance from the fire and the loading points.

Also important is the length of said sling (22) to prevent the downward flow of air produced by the blades of the helicopter rotor from fanning the fire.

An electric cable or wireless system, not shown, attached to the sling (22) connects the electronic tank control system (1) with the pilot control knobs in the helicopter cockpit.

It should be borne in mind that depending on the type of fire intensity, the pilot can choose between a discharge with a maximum flow of flow for better penetration or a flow of lower flow and more output speed for better coverage. This is done by means of the flow selector on the control panel that modifies the flow and pressure of the water leaving the injectors, acting on the revolutions of the motor group (17) and with the variation of the number of injector nozzles that must intervene, a selection made by means of a selector valve that distributes the water through the injectors. It is understood that in the present case, how many details will not alter or modify the essence of the invention will be variable.

Claims

1. - FIRE EXTINGUISHING FIRE DEVICE DEVICE, of the type that uses a container with the extinguishing load, with means of control by the pilot of its opening and unloading, and that use as a extinguishing material a mixture of inhibitory or retarding substance of the fire and water CHARACTERIZED by being formed by a tank (1) with a cylindrical body (6) that has an inner cylinder (4), open at the top and bottom, delimiting a water tank (11) in its annular area external, accessible and communicated by the upper part of said inner cylinder (4), and internally by a cylinder that acts as an expansion chamber (12) during foam discharge and as a water inlet during immersion loading; said expansion chamber (12) receives, driven under pressure, foaming and extinguishing mixture from a disintegration nozzle (14) of the foaming jet.

2. - AIR FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE DEVICE, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED because in the lower zone (10) of said expansion chamber (12) an air mesh (9) is arranged.

3. - FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE FOR AIR USE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said aerating mesh (9) is formed by a reticular structure of tensioned mesh.

4. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because to facilitate the generation of extinguishing foam, said disintegration nozzles use injectors (15).

5. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said tank (1) has a support foot (2).

6. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because it has control and monitoring means for the use of said device.

7. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said tank (1) is topped off by a motor module (7).

8. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said tank has a buoyancy element (3) configured to prevent the immersion of said motor module (6) when said tank (1) is allowed to float in water.

9.- FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because one of the water filling means is formed by one or more vertical tubular pipes, transporting the water sucked by discharge pumps (18), driven by the engine group (17) to said water tank (11), under the control of valves (19 and 20).

10. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because the foam reserve is located in the lower area of said tank (1).

11. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to claims 1 to 9, CHARACTERIZED because the foam reserve is located in a tank attached to the helicopter.

12. - FIRE EXTINGUISHING FIRE DEVICE DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said controlled means of expelling the extinguishing material consist of regulating the flow selector in the pilot control panel, acting on the feeding of said pump of water aspiration (18) that distributes the foaming mixture at a given flow rate and pressure.

13. - FIRE USE FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said means of support of said tank (1) consist of a sling (22) with adequate length so that the pilot can have a vertical view of the tank ( one) ·

14. - AIR FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE DEVICE, according to the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED because said cylinder (6) inferiorly experiences a gradual narrowing (8) of its diameter.